The purpose of this chapter is to implement the provisions of
Section 170 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code and does not limit, modify,
or expand the provisions contained therein.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC
611 § 1, 1984)
Every assessee of any taxable property or any person liable
for the taxes thereon, whose property was damaged or destroyed without
his fault by a misfortune or calamity, may, within 12 months of such
misfortune or calamity, apply for reassessment of such property by
delivering a written application describing the condition of the property
and its value immediately before and after the damage or destruction,
which damage must be shown therein to be in excess of $10,000. The
application shall be executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed
outside the state of California, verified by affidavit.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC
611 § 2, 1984; SCC 1272 § 1,
2004)
To be eligible for reassessment the damage or destruction to
the property must have been caused by any of the following:
1. A major
misfortune or calamity, in an area or region subsequently proclaimed
by the Governor to be in a state of disaster, if such property was
damaged or destroyed by the major misfortune or calamity which caused
the Governor to proclaim the area or region to be in a state of disaster.
As used in this paragraph "damage" includes a diminution in the value
of property as a result of restricted access to the property where
such restricted access was caused by the major misfortune or calamity.
2. A misfortune
or calamity.
3. A misfortune
or calamity which, with respect to a possessory interest in land owned
by the state or federal government, has caused the permit or other
right to enter upon the land to be suspended or restricted.
(SCC 611 § 3, 1984)
Upon receiving an Application for Reassessment (Application), the Assessor shall appraise the property and determine separately the full cash value of land, improvements, and personalty immediately before and after the damage or destruction. If the sum of the full cash values of the land, improvements, and personalty before the damage or destruction exceeds the sum of the values after the damage by ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or more, the Assessor shall also separately determine the percentage reductions in value of land, improvements, and personalty due to the damage or destruction. The Assessor shall reduce the values appearing on the assessment roll by the percentages of damage or destruction computed pursuant to this subdivision, and the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in Section
3.28.050; provided, however, that the amount of the reduction shall not exceed the actual loss. If the amount of damage, as verified by the Assessor, is not at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), no adjustment shall be made to said roll and no taxes shall be cancelled or refunded. The Assessor shall notify the property owner if the property is ineligible for disaster relief.
If no such Application is made and the Assessor determines that
within the preceding twelve (12) months a property has suffered damage
caused by misfortune or calamity which may qualify the property owner
for relief under this section, the Assessor shall provide the last
known owner of the property with an Application. The property owner
shall file the completed Application within twelve (12) months of
such misfortune or calamity. If notified by the Assessor within twelve
(12) months from the date of damage, the property owner has an additional
sixty (60) days to file the Application. If the Application from the
Assessor's Office is received more than twelve (12) months after
the date of damage, the deadline to file a claim has passed. Upon
receipt of a properly completed, timely filed application, the property
shall be reassessed in the same manner as required above.
In the case of a Governor-proclaimed disaster, in a neighborhood
or area that is damaged, and the Assessor has knowledge of the damage,
the Assessor may initiate the reassessment of those properties.
The Assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the amount
of the proposed reassessment. The notice shall state that the applicant
may appeal the proposed reassessment to the Assessment Appeals Board
within six months of the date of mailing the notice.
The assessed value of the property, in its damaged condition,
as determined shall be compounded annually by the inflation factor
specified in subdivision (a) of Section 51 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, and shall be the taxable value of the property until it is restored,
repaired, reconstructed, or other provisions of the law require the
establishment of a new base year value.
If partial reconstruction, restoration, or repair has occurred
on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be increased
by an amount determined by multiplying the difference between its
factored base year value immediately before the calamity and its assessed
value in its damaged condition by the percentage of the repair, reconstruction,
or restoration completed on that lien date.
When the property is fully repaired, restored, or reconstructed,
the Assessor shall make an additional assessment or assessments pursuant
to subdivision (h) of Section 170 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code.
The new taxable value shall be the lesser of: (1) its full cash value,
or (2) its factored base year value or its factored base year value
as adjusted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 70 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code. The new taxable value shall be enrolled on the
lien date following completion of the repair, restoration, or reconstruction.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC
611 § 4, 1984; SCC 1272 § 2,
2004; SCC 1666 § 1, 2020; SCC 1728, 12/12/2023)
If an appeal is requested, within the six-month period provided in Section
3.28.030, the assessment appeals board shall hear and decide the matter as if the proposed reassessment had been entered on the roll as an assessment made outside the regular assessment period. The decision of the Board regarding the damaged value of the property shall be final, provided that a decision of the assessment appeals board regarding any reassessment made pursuant to this chapter shall create no presumption as regards the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of the damage.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC
1272 § 3, 2004)
The reassessments resulting from reductions authorized by Sections
3.28.030 and
3.28.040 shall be forwarded to the auditor by the assessor or the clerk of the assessment appeals board, as the case may be. The auditor shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After being entered on the roll, said reassessments shall not be subject to review except by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The tax rate fixed for the property on the roll on which the
property so reassessed appeared at the time of the misfortune or calamity
shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment determined in accordance
with this chapter, and the assessee shall be liable for:
1. A prorated
portion of the taxes that would have been due on the property for
the current fiscal year had the misfortune or calamity not occurred,
such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months
in the current fiscal year prior to the misfortune or calamity; plus
2. A proration
of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed
condition, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number
of months in the fiscal year after the damage or destruction, including
the month in which the damage was incurred. If the damage or destruction
occurred after January 1 and before the beginning of the next fiscal
year, the reassessment shall be utilized to determine the tax liability
for the next fiscal year; provided, however, if the property is fully
restored during the next fiscal year, taxes due for that year shall
be prorated based on the number of months in the year before and after
the completion of restoration.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC
611 § 5, 1984; SCC 1272 § 4,
2004)
Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due shall be refunded
to the taxpayer pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 5096)
of Part 9 of Division 1 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code, as an erroneously
collected tax or by order of the Board of Supervisors without the
necessity of a claim being filed pursuant to Chapter 5 as set forth
in this section.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977)